Nephroprotective effects of Boswellia dalziellii leaves aqueous extract in fructose and streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem. The difficulty of its management, in particular linked to many limitations (notorious side effects, high costs and the inaccessibility of synthetic hypoglycemic drugs) leads the population to have recourse to herbal medicine as an alternative. Boswellia dalziellii is one of the many herbal remedies used empirically against diabetes mellitus. The present study evaluated the nephroprotective effects of B. dalziellii leaves aqueous extract in type 2 diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by the administration of fructose 10% (by gavage) and sucrose 10% (by drink at will) for 17 days, followed by a single intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin (40 mg/kg) and screened 7 days later. Glibenclamide (10 mg/kg) used as standard medicine and plant extract (75, 150 and 300 mg/kg) were administered for 21 days. After 21 days of treatment, B. dalziellii extract at all doses significantly improved glucose tolerance, decreased (p˂0.05-p˂0.001) blood glucose, uremia, serum creatinine and uricemia, and increased albuminemia (p˂0.05-p˂0.001). Furthermore, the plant extract significantly decreased (p˂0.001) MDA and increased (p˂0.05-p˂0.001) the GSH levels and the SOD, CAT and NO activities in the kidney of diabetics treated rats. The present results justifying the empirical use of B. dalziellii suggest that this plant would be beneficial in the management of diabetic renal complications.

Keywords: fructose; sucrose; streptozotocin; rat; Boswellia dalziellii; antidiabetic; nephroprotective; antioxidant.